So, kneeling in a circle about the fire, the six little Bunkers, and the others, began to roast the candies.  But Margy and Mun Bun did not have very good luck.  They forgot to turn their marshmallows and they held them so close to the fire that they had accidents.

“Oh, Mun Bun’s candy is burning!” cried Rose.

“And Margy’s is on fire, too!” added Russ.

“Oh, that’s too bad!” cried Mother Bunker.  “Never mind,” she said, as she saw that the two little tots felt sorry.  “I’ll toast your candies for you.  It’s rather hard for you to do it.”

Mrs. Bunker’s own candy was toasted a nice brown and all puffed up, for this is what happens when you toast marshmallows.  So she gave Mun Bun and Margy some of hers, and then began to brown more.

The other children did very well, and soon they were all eating the toasted candies.  Now and then one would catch fire, for sugar, you know, burns faster than wood or coal.  But it was easy to blow out the flaming candies, and, if they were not too badly burned, they were good to eat.

“Oh, look at the little dog!” cried Rose, as she put a fresh marshmallow on her stick.  “He smells our candy!  May I give him one, Daddy?”

“Yes, but give him one that isn’t toasted.  He might burn himself on a hot one.  Whose dog is he?”

“He just ran over to me from down there,” and Rose pointed to some boys and girls about another fire farther down the beach, who were also roasting marshmallows.  The dog seemed glad to be with Rose and his new friends, and let each of the six little Bunkers pat him.  He ate several candies and then ran back where he belonged.

“Oh, he was awful cute!” exclaimed Vi.  “I wish we could keep him.  Couldn’t we have a dog some time?”

“Maybe, when we get back home again,” promised Mother Bunker.

The marshmallow roast was fun, and even after the candies had all been eaten the party sat on the beach a little longer, looking at the waves in the moonlight.

“Now it’s time to go to bed!” called Mother Bunker.  “Margy and Mun Bun are so sleepy they can’t keep their eyes open.  Come on!  We’ll have more fun to-morrow!”

“I’m going crabbing off the pier,” declared Russ.  “There’s lots of crabs now, Mr. Burnett says.”

“Yes, August is a good month to catch crabs,” returned Cousin Tom.

“I’m going fishing,” said Laddie.  “Can you catch fish off your pier, Cousin Tom?”

“Oh, yes, sometimes.  But don’t catch any Sallie Growlers.”

“What’s a Sallie Growler?” asked Vi, before any one else could speak.

“Oh, you’ll know as soon as you catch one,” laughed her cousin.  Then he picked up Mun Bun, who was really asleep by this time, and carried him up to the house, while Daddy Bunker took Margy, whose eyes were also closed.

True to their promises Russ and Laddie went down to the little boat wharf the next morning after breakfast.  Russ had the crab net and a chunk of meat tied to a string.  Laddie had a short pole and line and a hook baited with a piece of clam, for that was what fishermen often used, Cousin Tom said.